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After lifting Dubai trophy, 26-yr-old Chandigarh golfer sets his sights on Colombo tournament
Kocchar, who had won the individual title as well as team title in the 2022 National Games, had won his maiden international title in the form of Asian Development Tour’s $125,000 Egypt Golf Series-Red Sea Open in November this year
The Chandigarh golfer was among the 17 professional players who signed with the IGPL.
It has been a week since Chandigarh golfer Karandeep Kocchar won his maiden Indian Golf Premier League (IGPL) in the form of the IGPL Invitational at the Ernie Els Club in Dubai in UAE. The 26-year-old, who had signed for the inaugural edition of the league earlier this year, edged out Veer Ganapathy and Pukhraj Singh for the title with an overall score of nine-under in the three rounds tournament to pocket a winning purse of more than Rs 22.50 lakh.
As Kocchar leaves for the next week’s IGPL Invitational Sri Lanka, the Chandigarh golfer talked about his UAE win.
“In a way it was a special win. I was not playing that well but the experience of playing earlier at Ernie Els Club came in handy for me. I fortunately missed the ball at the right places and the ball landed in the greens, where I would make a birdie or par to keep my chances alive. The last day’s flags were very tough as a lot of flags were on slopes and scoring was very hard. My focus was to hit the ball in the green and to try for birdie or par to have a chance at the title. It’s good to have the win under my belt and the focus now is to finish the year on a high with a win at IGPL Invitational Colombo,” said Kocchar while speaking with The Indian Express.
Kocchar, who had won the individual title as well as team title in the 2022 National Games, had won his maiden international title in the form of Asian Development Tour’s $125,000 Egypt Golf Series-Red Sea Open in November this year. Kocchar, who is a multiple winner on the Professional Golf Tour of India, had carded an overall score of 19-under to win the title edging out England’s Matt Killen. Kochhar had pocketed a prize money of Rs 19.3 lakh and the win also meant that the Chandigarh golfer secured his Asian Tour Card for the next year. Kochhar’s plan for the next year is to play on Asian Tour as well as the US Open qualifiers.
The Chandigarh golfer was among the 17 professional players who signed with the IGPL
“The ADT title win in the Egypt Golf Series-Red Sea Open was a big morale booster for me. Winning my maiden international title on the Asian Development Tour also helped me secure my Asian Tour card for the next year. I believe I have in me to win an Asian Tour title and that will be my aim for the next year. I also plan to play the US Open qualifiers if my schedule allows. Playing on the IGPL circuit and winning there also remains my target,” said Kochhar, who had started playing golf at the insistence of his grandfather Dr G S Kochhar.
The Chandigarh golfer was among the 17 professional players who signed with the IGPL. Kocchar, who had played on the PGTI Tour earlier, faced suspension from PGTI for signing for IGPL before Delhi High Court put a stay order on the suspension. Earlier this year, PGTI also launched its own golf league but Kochhar plans to play on the IGPL circuit.
“PGTI had problems with the professional players playing in the IGPL. IGPL did not have any problem with us playing on the PGTI circuit when our schedule allowed. IGPL has been an exciting league with three rounds and no cut. Physically wise, there has been no change but if we talk about mentality, there are some changes. There is no cut and every player gets the share of prize money. There are also amateur as well as women golfers taking part and the talent pool is much diverse,” said Kochhar.
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